Tales of Terror: The Ring
by SaintHeartwing
Summary: Gaz Membrane just can't handle being in Dib's class, cuz it means having to endure MS. BITTERS. She can't stand her, and is determined to get back at the old crone. And she thinks she knows exactly how to do that...with a very special little art assignment...a birthday present I made for Zim'sMostLoyalServant. Enjoy!


Dib Membrane knew something had to give.

It had become clear the minute that Gaz, his sister, had been bumped up a grade to his classroom that she and Ms. Bitters were not going to get along. It had become abundantly clear. Golden/amber eyes had glared out from under purple bangs shaped like fangs at the clouded-over glasses of Ms. Bitters as she waited for all the children to file in. She'd sneered darkly at Gaz as the girl had taken her seat, and had asked, in that faintly condescending, oddly deep and cutting voice-

"So, Ms. Gazlene Membrane will grace us with her presence today?"

Gaz had clearly vowed then and there to punish Ms. Bitters for the sin of condescending down to her. She had given Ms. Bitters a look that would kill, and Ms. Bitters had ignored her, continuing on with the lesson. And it had become clear as the days went on that Ms. Bitters was not quite like Mr. Elliot, her previous teacher. Oh no.

"I can't deal with her!" Gaz had growled aloud as she tossed her bookbag onto the couch, and it whacked into Dib as he frowned a bit.

"What exactly is so wrong with her?" Dib inquired. "She treats you like any other student."

"She's...she's...CHALLENGING me!" Gaz had snapped back, Dib clearly not understanding why this was such a big deal as he sighed.

"Welcome to real life." He had remarked. "Now you know how I feel every day I'm in that class."

"I'm BETTER than you at this stuff. I deserve to be treated better!" Gaz had muttered darkly, folding her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowed. "I'm going to get her back somehow. Just you wait."

Well, the days had gone on, and bit by bit the two frayed at each other. Ms. Bitter's idea had been to do a Creative Writing Assignment on a film. Each student was to pick a movie that they related to, and do a writing piece on it that explained how it related to their lives. Dib had naturally picked They Live, a classic science fiction film that was brilliantly satirical, about a world where everyone seemed blissfully unaware of an alien presence. His classmate Gretchen had picked Carrie, a story about a plain, slightly ordinary-looking young girl with hidden powers who one day snapped and used said powers to essentially ravage everyone in school and anyone who did her wrong.

Dib wondered if perhaps he should talk to Gretchen.

But then Gaz had given HER assignment on "Teaching Ms. Tingle", going into great depth on the pettiness, craveness and cruelty of Ms. Tingle in the film, a rotten old crone who "because she failed in life, punishes her own failure out on her students who succeed far more than she ever could", who's refusual to own up to her meanness and bitterness...

OH did Gaz love using the word "bitter" and it's variants...

Ultimately doomed her. Well. It didn't take a genius to guess who Gaz was really talking about.

And it also didn't take a genius to see that Ms. Bitters would give her, like Ms. Tingle did to the main character in the film, a C for her assignment.

"Your citation work was terrible." Ms. Bitters had said. "You use quotes without properly addressing where they come from in the film, you double-spaced your paper, and you overuse run on sentences."

Gaz had been furious. She'd ripped the graded paper up into little chunks right in front of the class, chunks flying everywhere as the other students in the class stared in shock, mouths agape as Dib gulped. Ms. Bitters stood up tall, her white hair neatly tied back in that bun, arms held behind her black-dressed form as she finally said...

"And you'll be cleaning that up in detention today."

At first those outside the room thought it was a WOLF howling...

...

...

...

... "I'm going to get her at her home!" Gaz snapped, pacing back and forth in the kitchen, Dib sitting in the living room across from it as he watched "Mysterious Mysteries", the glasses-wearing little alien hunter sighing as he shook his head back and forth.

"Nobody knows where she lives, Gaz. She's never even been seen leaving the school." He added with a shrug. "I don't know how you're going to get at her." Her brother added. "Why don't you just do your assignments normally like the rest of us and stop trying to make every single assignment you do about HER somehow?"

Indeed, it was getting aggravating. In fact, Dib had spied Gaz deliberately capitalizing various words in her assignments, which spelled out foul curses towards Ms. Bitters. Now, granted, they were in Latin.

Which made it ALL the more impressive when Ms. Bitters handed them back with a frown of dissaproval and a remark of "Nemo me impune lacessit."

Nobody provokes her with impunity indeed. It looked like Sara, the prettiest girl in the entire fifth grade, wasn't going to be the only girl who'd leave school with 34 Cs. And by this time, Gaz had spent almost more time in detention than she had in Bitters's class. Maybe if she'd stopped ripping up her poorly graded assignments...

Gaz folded her arms over her chest, pouting a bit before an idea came to her as she walked over to her bookbag, picking out her notepad and looking at the assignment. An art project was what Ms. Bitters had assigned, and Gaz knew exactly what she was going to do. A grin spread across her face as she raced for her room, and began getting things out of the closet, smirking with delight.

A special curse. A very special curse embedded in a very special ring. She took out a small clay sculpting kit and got to work, forming a ring, carving in runes into the side as her eyes glittered with delight, and she moved into the back of the closet, focusing as she held out one hand. She took out a knife, dripping some blood down onto a circle made of candles as a pit slowly opened up, and foul, unnatural dark, oily ink began to seep up. It enveloped the ring as she watched it do its work, turning what had been clay into a beautiful golden shine, looking sparkly and shiny.

Just perfect. A ring that would do EXACTLY what she wanted. Gaz held it in her hands, smirking as she brought it back outside of her room and put it into her backpack, knowing she'd definitely get an "A" for this.

The next day, soft winds blew over the school, pushing along dark clouds in an overcast sky as Gaz put the ring down onto her desk and gestured at it, Ms. Bitters picking it up and turning it over in one hand. "...this is your project?" She asked. "...how do I know you didn't plagiarize it?"

"If you want, take it in to get looked at. I can wait for my grade." Gaz said, with an added smirk and a smug "Ma'am."

Ms. Bitters, for some reason, let this slide. She calmly pocketed the ring and just nodded, moving over to Dib's table as he showed off a little comic he'd drawn of Zim's intestines, Zim gaping at the amazing DETAIL Dib had put into it as Gretchen, sitting behind him, sighed.

"Ohhh, so he DOES think about you?" She inquired, Zim shrieking as he tugged on his fake hair, Dib smirking as Ms. Bitters gave him a B+, Gaz watching as one hand of Ms. Bitters fingered the ring in her pocket, and she chuckled inwardly. She knew Ms. Bitters was going to put it on. She KNEW it. She KNEW it.

One by one, Ms. Bitters graded the other assignments, and then headed back to her chair, sitting down in it as she put the ring on her desk, and then announced the children were to open up their books. "You're all to read through "Catcher in the Rye"." She remarked. "You've still got six chapters left to go. I imagine some of you will connect to Holden Caulfield, thinking he's some profound intellectual when, in reality, he was a self-centered, self-righteous spoiled brat who needed a good spanking." Ms. Bitters went on nonchalantly as she took up the ring.

Gaz beamed in delight, the ring glittering as it slid onto Ms. Bitters finger as she turned her hand over, going "Hmmm" and "Hmmmmmm!" as she examined herself. For a few minutes, Gaz sat there, watching, waiting, and...seeing no change. Ms. Bitters wasn't looking any different, wasn't behaving any differently. A frown began to pass over Gaz's features as Ms. Bitters kept looking at her hand, and then slowly rose up. She walked over to Gaz, and put the ring down, easily getting it off her finger and smiling down at her.

"You know...I believe you. This is probably the best out of the class. A plus." She told Gaz with a small, Mona Lisa smile as she walked back to her desk, calmly sitting down as Gaz looked down at the ring, frowning. What?! WHAT?!

As soon as the lunch bell rang, Gaz slipped into the bathroom, and slipped on the ring herself. Was the damn thing broken?! Had the curse not worked?

But then that changed when she heard the voices in her head. The voice of Gretchen in the stall. _"Stupid Sara. One day she's gonna pay for making fun of my braces. Someday when I get the chance, she'll have termites down her pants!"_

Gaz whipped her head in the direction of the bathroom stall, Gretchen just doing her business...not saying anything. At least, not out LOUD. Gaz then headed for the hallway, on her way to the lunchroom as more voices filled her mind.

 _"Oh geez, it's Gaz. Why does she always wear the same outfit to school every day if her dad is rich as he is?"_

 _"Why can't she ever smile?"_

 _"Ugh, I hope she doesn't see me."_

 _"I'd probably frown all the time too if I had no friends."_

Gaz inwardly growled. The ring WAS working. She could hear everyone's thoughts all too clearly. She plopped down next to Dib as he stared intently at Zim, who was glaring angrily back at Dib, their thoughts quite blatant.

 _"One day I'm gonna scoop out your guts for real, Zim!"_

 _"Filthy little Dib! I'm going to sick radioactive chickens on you tomorrow, just you wait!"_

Gaz groaned, shaking her head as she held it in her hands, Dib giving her a surprised look. "Gaz? You alright?"

"Oh, shut up!" She grumbled. "You talk too much!"

Dib looked away, but his thoughts were clear. _"Why can't she just be happy that her brother cares about her? Why can't she act like a good sister?"_

"You're not a good brother! If you were, you wouldn't take the last pizza slice or soda or always be whining about wanting to watch Mysterious Mysteries!" Gaz muttered darkly, burying her face in her arms as Dib looked back at her, looking confused, and a bit hurt.

"You EAT most of the Pizza and the Soda and hog the couch all the time at home, why is THAT okay but me-"

"Just SHUT UP!" Gaz snapped. "I can't hear myself think!" She grumbled, Dib suddenly getting a realization as he decided to test something out.

 _"She could stand to eat less pizza anyway, she's getting a zit on her forehead."_

"I AM NOT!" Gaz snarled, tossing Dib's apple juice at him as he barely ducked in time, the other kids in the cafeteria all gazing at her in surprise at this sudden, unexpected outburst as Dib's eyes widened behind his glasses.

"...you read my mind." He whispered under his breath, moving away from Gaz slightly as Gaz could hear the voices of the other children slowly filling up her head.

 _"Now SHE'S being crazy?!"_

 _"What on Earth is wrong with her?"_

 _"Does insanity run in the family?"_

 _"God, what a bitch."_

 _"I can't stand that brat."_

"Oh, SHUT UP!" Gaz snarled back at them all, leaping on top of the table, glaring balefully as Zim turned around, looking at the other children who were all as quiet as a mouse.

"Nobody said anything." He remarked. _"What the florping hell is wrong with the Gaz-Beast? She's even more aggravating than usual. Sometimes I wonder what I see in her."  
_  
Gaz GAPED at him. "Wait a minute. YOU...oh, EW! You're, like, a hundred!" She said, sticking her tongue out and racing off through the cafeteria, heading for the bathroom, the thoughts of the other children all ringing about in her head.

 _"Guess she caught her brother's crazy."_

 _"God, everything always has to be about her!"_

 _"What an unlikable brat."_

 _"I wish she'd just shut up."_

 _"She'll probably kill us all one day if she doesn't kill HERSELF."_

 _"Why can't her dad just spank her or send her away?"_

More and more voices, all loud, throbbing, filling her brain, endlessly invading her mind. She clutched her skull, cringing as she fell to her knees, panting and heaving. Sweat dribbled down the sides of her head as she continued to hear their voices stabbing into her mind. Accusing, degrading, ashamed, horrified, angry, years of surpressed feelings and thoughts towards her were now clear, and she couldn't turn them off.

She felt a wordless scream building up in her head, her mouth opening wide. She tried to tug the ring off, desperate to get rid of it, desperate to end this awful curse...but it wouldn't come off. She tried to tug, harder and harder, but it just...wouldn't...

Come...

OFF!

"GET...OFF ME!" She cried out, trying to tug the stupid ring off, panting and heaving as she tugged with all her might, not caring if she tore her own finger off...

And then Ms. Bitter's voice rang out. "...want me to take it off?"

Gaz slowly turned around, Ms. Bitters calmly standing there. Slowly, Gaz held her ringed finger up as Ms. Bitters touched the ring and rubbed over it slowly as it softly glittered...and then slid right off, into Ms. Bitters's palm. "I expect you to behave in class from now on." She added as Gaz's mouth gaped open wide.

"...how?" She managed to get out as Ms. Bitters nonchalantly smiled back at her, and made her way towards her classroom.

"Gazlene..." She remarked, her voice cutting through Gaz like a knife.

 ** _"I ALWAYS know...what everyone is thinking."_**


End file.
